According to the e-retail giant, sales of its $79 Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, $149 Kindle Touch 3G, and the $199 Kindle Fire quadrupled those generated last year on Black Friday. In addition, the Android-based Kindle Fire tablet has now stayed atop Amazon's best-selling products list since it was announced eight weeks ago.

However, just like in the past, Amazon did not reveal unit sales. Instead, the company said that it had sold "millions of the new Kindle family and Kindle Fire" prior to the holiday-shopping season and that Black Friday was yet another busy shopping day. Amazon also said that many of its customers are buying multiple Kindles, so they can get one for themselves and give others as gifts.

Related Links

Speaking of those other retail outlets, Target announced today that the Kindle Fire topped sales of all tablets in its stores. That revelation is notable, considering Amazon's device is competing against Apple's iPad on Target shelves.

Last week, research firm Parks Associates revealed results of a survey that found 51 percent of U.S. consumers prefer the Kindle Fire to the iPad 2. However, in the same study, the company found that 62 percent of respondents who were "most likely to purchase a tablet by the end of the year" were planning to buy an iPad 2, compared with 38 percent of consumers who said they would buy the Kindle Fire.

About the author

Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
See full bio

Discuss Kindle family soars on Black Friday, but unit sales still elusive